Science Reference

Speed of sound

The speed of sound is a term used to describe the speed of sound waves passing through an elastic medium.

The speed varies with the medium employed (for example, sound waves move faster through water than through air), as well as with the properties of the medium, especially temperature.

The term is commonly used to refer specifically to the speed of sound in air.

At sea level, at a temperature of 21 degrees Celsius (70 degrees Fahrenheit) and under normal atmospheric conditions, the speed of sound is 344 m/s (1238 km/h or 770 mph).

The speed varies depending on atmospheric conditions; the most important factor is the temperature.

Humidity has little effect on the speed of sound, nor does air pressure by itself.

Air pressure has no effect at all in an ideal gas approximation.

This is because pressure and density both contribute to sound velocity equally, and in an ideal gas the two effects cancel out, leaving only the effect of temperature.

Sound usually travels more slowly with greater altitude, due to reduced temperature.

For more information about the topic Speed of sound, read the full article at Wikipedia.org, or see the following related articles:

Note: This page refers to an article that is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the article Speed of sound at Wikipedia.org. See the Wikipedia copyright page for more details.

Recommend this page on Facebook, Twitter,
and Google +1:

Other bookmarking and sharing tools:

|

Search ScienceDaily

Number of stories in archives: 137,433

Find with keyword(s):
 
Enter a keyword or phrase to search ScienceDaily's archives for related news topics,
the latest news stories, reference articles, science videos, images, and books.

Recommend ScienceDaily on Facebook, Twitter, and Google:

Other social bookmarking and sharing services:

|

  more breaking science news

Social Networks


Follow ScienceDaily on Facebook, Twitter,
and Google:

Recommend ScienceDaily on Facebook, Twitter, and Google +1:

Other social bookmarking and sharing tools:

|

Breaking News

... from NewsDaily.com

In Other News ...

Free Subscriptions

... from ScienceDaily

Get the latest science news with our free email newsletters, updated daily and weekly. Or view hourly updated newsfeeds in your RSS reader:

Feedback

... we want to hear from you!

Tell us what you think of ScienceDaily -- we welcome both positive and negative comments. Have any problems using the site? Questions?

Post this page to your favorite social bookmarking site:
Include this item in your blog or web site:
Email this page's link to a friend or colleague: